


A Moment's (Un)Rest

by dwarrowdams



Series: Rogues Do It From Behind [14]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, look I actually tagged it properly, wonders never cease
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-07
Packaged: 2018-08-07 06:46:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7704529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dwarrowdams/pseuds/dwarrowdams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zevran comforts Gilan after Gilan has a nightmare about the destruction of Castle Cousland.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Moment's (Un)Rest

**Author's Note:**

> Dear goodness, I'm sorry I haven't posted in forever. Hopefully I'll get back into it soon—I have a bunch of unfinished Gil/Zev things that I want to finish, so you should be seeing a bit more about these two soon! As always, any form of communicating your feelings on my fic (kudos, comments, sharing the fic on social media, contacting me on social media to talk about it [fyi, I will probably cry if anyone does this]) is greatly appreciated!

Zevran awoke to the sound of a soft cry of sorrow.

 

He reached instinctively for the dagger beneath his pillow before realizing that it was simply Gilan—although he was awfully noisy for the middle of the night.

 

He groaned softly before opening his eyes, ready to give Gilan a gentle scolding for waking him up so carelessly when he saw that the human was crying, his shoulders heaving with sobs, his eyes and nose both dripping profusely.  “Gilan?” he rasped as he blinked rapidly, trying to think of some way to comfort the human.

 

“Sorry for waking you up,” Gilan muttered, wiping his eyes.  “First time I’ve slept all week and of course it’s interrupted by nightmares.”

 

Zevran wrapped his arms around the human, gently stroking Gilan’s back in an attempt to comfort him.  He had never seen Gilan so grim—in fact, in the weeks they’d been travelling together, he had rarely seen the human without a smile on his face.  “You cannot get even a moment’s rest from all of this, hmm?” he murmured.

 

“Apparently not,” Gilan replied.  “You’d think I could at least forget about everything that’s gone wrong while I’m asleep, but it seems as if that’s too much of a luxury.”

 

“You have more than earned a break at this point,” Zevran said, tilting his head so that he could kiss Gilan’s neck.  “Would it help to talk about it?”

 

Gilan exhaled shakily as he slipped out of Zevran’s arms, stretching his limbs as he did so.  “I think so—if you don’t mind listening, that is.  I won’t take it personally if you’d rather not hear, though.  I’m sure you have plenty on your mind without me filling it with my problems.”

 

“Do not worry about me, my dear,” Zevran said.  “I am happy to listen, if that is what you need.”

 

“Mmkay,” Gilan mumbled.  “Have I told you about how I became a Grey Warden?”

 

“You mentioned that you were saved from the destruction of your home if you became a Warden, if I remember correctly,” Zevran said.  Gilan hadn’t said much about his recent past, but since it involved leaving the only home he’d known, he couldn’t imagine that the circumstances preceding Gilan’s time as a Grey Warden were particularly pleasant.

 

Gilan sniffed in amusement.  “That sounds like a stroll through the meadows compared to what actually happened,” he said.  “I woke up in the middle of the night to find Howe’s men killing everyone in Castle Cousland.  My mother and I fought our way through plenty of them while we were looking for my father.  So many people died—people I’ve known for practically my whole life—and I couldn’t do a thing.”  He paused, taking a deep breath to steady himself.  “We found our way to Father, but he was wounded badly.  Then Duncan—the Warden-Commander—showed up and offered to get me out alive if I joined the Wardens.  I wasn’t thinking properly and my parents were urging me to go, so I left with Duncan.”

 

“At least you escaped with your life, yes?” Zevran said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

 

Gilan shook his head.  “I left them to die, Zevran,” he replied, not bothering to brush away the tears that had begun to fall from his eyes once more.  “All so I could make it out into a world that’s falling apart.”

 

Zevran sat in silence, unsure of what to say, before he wrapped Gilan in his arms, holding the human in a tight embrace.  “Oh my dear,” he murmured as he leaned down to kiss Gilan’s neck.  “I cannot imagine how awful it must be to relive it like that.”

 

“Pretty damn awful,” Gilan said.  “After I left with Duncan, I actually convinced myself it was a dream. I didn’t believe that everything could go so horribly wrong so quickly—that I could go from having a family and a home to having nothing in a matter of hours.  He had to remind me that it was real all over again the next day.”

 

Zevran said nothing; he simply kissed Gilan’s cheek and held him even more tightly, wishing that he could do something more for this man. He could not truly understand what Gilan had endured that night—after all, Zevran had never had a home or a family—but he could imagine the scope of what this man had lost in the space of a few hours.  Such an experience would surely haunt Gilan for the rest of his days.  Zevran could do nothing to remove the experience from Gilan’s mind, but he could at least remain at his side tonight, hoping that his presence would somehow ease Gilan’s pain.  He rested his head on Gilan’s shoulder, his hands gently massaging the human’s back in hopes that he could bring some small scrap of comfort to this man.

 

“Zev?” Gilan said softly.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I’m glad you’re here,” Gilan said, pulling back slightly so that he could look Zevran in the eye.  “Talking about it with someone helps.”

 

“Then I am glad that I decided to stay with you tonight,” Zevran replied as he reclined back onto the bedroll.  “It is good that you did not have to deal with this alone.”

 

“Mmm,” Gilan hummed as he eased himself down beside Zevran, resting his head on the elf’s chest.  He sighed contentedly as he relaxed, his blond hair splayed across Zevran’s chest.  “Thanks, Zev,” he murmured.  “You’re wonderful.”

 

Zevran smiled at the compliment—although Gilan often went out of his way to compliment Zevran, his words always managed to sound sincere.  “It was the least I could do, my sweet,” he replied.

 

“No matter.  I appreciate it.”

 

Zevran reached down to smooth Gilan’s hair, his thumb caressing the human’s face as he did so.  “Try to go back to sleep, my dear,” he said.  “Perhaps you will be able to rest more peacefully now.”

 

“I hope so,” Gilan replied as he closed his eyes, nestling closer to Zevran.  “As long as you’re comfortable with me invading your space like this.”

 

“I would hardly call it invading,” Zevran mumbled.  “It is incredibly pleasant.”

 

“Seriously?”

 

“Seriously.”

 

“All right then, “Gilan said as he stretched his arm across Zevran’s body, the tips of his figers coming to rest on Zevran’s thigh.  “Good luck moving me if you change your mind.”

 

Zevran chuckled.  “Oh, I do not think that I will be doing that any time soon,” he said.  Although the weight of Gilan’s head on his chest did not leave Zevran with much range of motion, the feeling was surprisingly pleasant.  He enjoyed holding Gilan like this.  It made him feel as if he were finally doing something for this man, no matter how small.  “We should do this more often,” he murmured.

 

“Talk about my awful nightmares?”

 

“No.  Sleep like this.”

 

“Yeah,” Gilan replied, shifting so he could meet Zevran’s gaze momentarily.  “It’s nice.  Really nice.”

 

Zevran sighed contentedly, his body already relaxed despite the added weight of Gilan against him.  Although the circumstances surrounding their current sleeping arrangement were less than favorable, he could certainly get used to the gentle scratch of Gilan’s stubble on his chest or the feel of the human’s fingers brushing lightly against his thigh.

 

“It certainly is.”


End file.
